Blue Drift

These are Akoya pearl earrings.
Natural blue pearls are something I deeply love at Flower Jem.
Their slightly warm, reddish tone gives them a shy and charming expression.

 

 

The pearl sizes are 7.6–7.8 mm and 3.5–4.0 mm.
All fittings are made of K18 gold.

 

The surface of these pearls has a strong, transparent luster, almost as if covered with a very thin layer of glass.

 

Akoya pearls are harvested in December and January.
In the final 40 days before harvest, it is common practice to leave the oysters undisturbed.

 

 

When stimulated, Akoya oysters become active and produce more nacre.
This results in a thicker nacre layer, but the surface becomes rough.

 

 

During cultivation, oysters are cleaned once every one to two weeks.
This involves removing attached organisms such as barnacles from their shells.This cleaning process stimulates the oysters.

 

 

That is why the final 40 days before harvest are extremely important.
Even a beautifully formed pearl can develop a rough surface if a coarse nacre layer forms during this final stage.

By keeping the oysters calm before harvest, a finer and smoother nacre layer forms on the surface.

 

 

It sounds simple, but in reality, it requires experience and intuition.
It is a very delicate and difficult process.

The pearls used in these earrings appear to have gone through this final stage successfully.

It is like painting.
At first, you apply paint in bold strokes.
But the final finish is done with a delicate mist.

 

 

In the same way, pearl farmers try to keep the oysters calm, as if not to wake a sleeping child.

These earrings were originally made for a customer who visited Japan and came to meet me at Flower Jem.
She was looking for white round pearls with silver fittings.

 

 

But I created these blue baroque pearl earrings with gold fittings as a contrast.
Light exists because of shadow.
White stands out because of black.
Calm exists because of hardship.

There is something curious about Flower Jem.
I rarely have the chance to meet my customers in person.

 

 

The first person I met came from Singapore.
She was one of my earliest customers on Etsy.

She ran an accessory shop, and I supplied pearls to her.
Almost every day, I listened to her requests and proposed pearls to her.

We continued this for about a year, until she paused her shop due to a career change.

Because we had spent so much time communicating through pearls, meeting her for the first time felt strangely familiar—like meeting an old friend.

At that time, I was still working at a pearl company.
I remember spending about two hours at an izakaya, talking in broken English about pearls, the company, and even complaining about my boss.

 

 

The next person I met came from China.
She wrote about purchasing pearls from me and meeting me in person on platforms like PriceScope.

After her article, many people began contacting me or visiting Japan to meet me.
I quietly consider her an honorary chairperson of Flower Jem.

After that, something even more curious happened.

 

 

Four groups came to meet me within just one month.
Almost every week, I was meeting someone visiting Japan.

Then another meeting in Osaka.
Then three groups within a single week.

They were spread across weekday evenings and Sunday, but still, three in one week surprised me.

I often wonder why these visits happen in clusters rather than evenly over time.
Perhaps their travel timing simply overlaps.

 

 

At that time, I was also busy with tax filing, which made it difficult to fully respond to each customer’s requests in advance.

If I say I am busy, some people hesitate to order or meet.
But if I say “anytime is fine,” I may not have enough time to respond properly.

Balancing this is quite difficult.

 

 

As one solution, I recently set up a proper workspace in my Osaka apartment, where I stay for weekday work.

The desk is two meters wide, sixty centimeters deep, and very solid—stronger than the one I use in Kobe.

Until now, I did not have a large table there, which made working difficult.

I also set up two additional workspaces in this small room.

 

 

Someone I work with during the week has become interested in making jewelry, and their friend already makes accessories.

By inviting them regularly, I thought it would help prevent me from going straight to sleep after returning home.

When I am alone, I often lie down “just for a moment” and end up falling asleep or getting lost in social media.

But with a proper desk, I sit down first.
Even if I am tired, I feel like working.

Once I start—even for just two minutes—I get drawn into the pearls.

With these changes, I hope to respond to more customer requests this year.

Sometimes, when everything is ready, orders may suddenly stop.
But regardless of that, I simply want to make more pearl jewelry.

As of March 25, 2026, there are only about three items listed on Flower Jem.

 

 

At the very least, I would like to have twenty items available, and ideally around one hundred.

That does not mean I want people to wait until then before purchasing.

The small number of items is partly because many have already been purchased, and also because custom orders have increased.

 

 

Custom orders often lead me to create pieces I would not normally make.
This naturally improves my skills.

In many ways, I am grateful.

At this point, I am no longer sure what kind of article I am writing,
but this was an introduction to a pair of beautiful blue Akoya pearl earrings in K18 gold.

Thank you again for visiting.

Pearl bless you,
Flower Jem